Polarizers and polarization analyzers are very useful and are available in several forms for most laser beams even in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum where wire grid polarizers are used with low to moderate power CO.sub.2 lasers and other lasers. However, for high energy pulsed lasers there are no polarization analyzers. Therefore, it is an objective of this disclosure to provide a device that can be used with high energy pulsed lasers to obtain information about their polarization properties.
A recent teaching by Pyles, et al in application No. 707,294, filed Mar. 1, 1985 now abandoned has made it possible to sample a high energy pulsed laser beam in a nonobstructing manner. Recent test of their power meter on the output of a relatively low power linearly polarized cw laser beam has shown the output to be somewhat sensitive to the direction of polarization relative to the direction of the wires. The output is 50% larger when wires are aligned perpendicular to the direction of polarization as compared to the output when the wires are aligned parallel to the direction of polarization. This result is just the opposite to what one would expect based on the manner in which wire grid polarizers work. However, the spacing between the wires and the diameters of the wires are such that this device would be expected to have very little, if any, similarity to wire grid polarizers. But the observed results are consistent with the manner in which mirrors behave with respect to linearly polarized light. That is, if it is assumed that the very small part of the energy in the laser beam which is blocked by the wires is reflected or scattered from the wires as if they were mirrors then one would expect maximum absorption for the direction of polarization perpendicular to this direction. The results of the above experiments are consistent with this assumption.